Fellowship at 20° Below Zero

Air pioneer and explorer, Brent Balchen, Norseman Lodge 878 of Brooklyn, dropped Masonic flags while flying over both the North and South Poles.  In addition, He also dropped his Kismet Shrine fez on the South Pole while flying over it with Brother Richard Byrd in 1934. Later, he helped organize the Top Of The World Masonic Square Club in Thule, Greenland declaring, "Men need the fellowship and warmth of Masonry at 20° below zero."

The Lewis And Clark Trail

Brothers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out on May 21, 1804 from St. Charles, in what is now Missouri.  Their "Voyage of Discovery" took them to the west coast, laying the groundwork to open the vast, rich west for the young United States.  The journey actually started, however, in Washington DC months earlier, when Brother Lewis began his trip to the Mississippi River.  Today's Lewis and Clark Trail, a series of parks and roads that roughly follows their route, reflects that fact by running from Washington, DC to the Oregon shore.

Nine Day Wonder

Upon his election as Governor of New Hampshire, Joseph A. Gilmore became a "Mason at Sight" April 28, 1863.  He received the 33° AASR (Northern Jurisdiction) on May 7, 1863, just nine days later!

Persistent Stories

Stories persist that Charles Lindbergh, a member of Keystone Lodge 243 in St. Louis, wore a square and compasses sewn on his jacket, and also had a square and compasses attached to his plane's dashboard on his famous flight across the Atlantic.  Most likely, neither is true.  Photographs taken of Lindbergh on the day of his flight show nothing sewn on his jacket.  Also, the few existing pictures of his plane's cockpit from that era show no square and compasses.

Bare Facts

After visiting the Soviet Union Brother Will Rogers wrote a book entitled, "There's Not A Bathing Suit In Russia, And Other Bare Facts."  The publisher declined to put the second part of the title, suggestive by the standards of the day, on the book's cover.

The World's Only Anti-Masonic Monument

The world's only anti-Masonic monument is located in Batavia Cemetery in New York.  Batavia was the home of the infamous William Morgan.  Morgan's full Masonic status is in doubt but it is certain he was initiated into Royal Arch Masonry.  In 1826, he announced he would publish the secrets of the fraternity.  A zealous group of Freemasons, in an attempt to prevent that, kidnapped Morgan and purportedly killed him.  Morgan's fate remains a mystery.  Some believe he is buried at the location of this monument, but the fact is he disappeared after the kidnapping and, despite rumors, was never seen again.  The 20 foot marker in Batavia is only a memorial, not a gravestone. 

Variety Is The Spice Of Life (And Dating)

Brother Will Rogers dated all seven of the Blake sisters before asking the youngest, Betty, to marry him in 1906.  Betty, apprehensive about a life in show business, turned him down.  A year and a half later the persistent Rogers changed her mind and they married.  Betty met Will when he was, what else, on a date with one of her older sisters.